Enter the Konchū
'Introduction' Having heard the rumor of a magical weapon, Alex has found his way to the strange "Konchū shima" where he will search for this latest addition to his arsenal. It is a nice day on the island in terms of weather and current surroundings and nothing dangerous seems to be around. The cloaked man had made his way into this strange island of Fiore. The weather had grown bad while traveling to it, even though the weather got better when he finally got on the island. Removing his cloak, Alex got out his sunglasses, and after a few looks to the area surrounding him in this bay went in the forest figuring that he had the best chance of finding someone or something there instead of in the mountains if he didn't want to go back over the sea. Watching from the trees, was a man shrouded in clothing. He followed the newcomer carefully, making sure not to alert anyone of his presence and trying to determine the best course of action. Expecting an ambush if the weapon was as important to the people from the island as some of the other items he found in the past, he kept paying attention to the sounds of his surrounding, ready to defend himself at the slightest sound of someone nearing him. After walking through the bushes for a while, he stopped in his tracks at a sound he heard behind him. Maybe it was nothing but the wind or one of the animals that inhabited the island, but it would be foolish to underestimate the villagers either way. Removing his sunglasses, after listening to the surroundings for a bit longer while looking around him as far as possible without actually turning his head, he continued his walk. After a few steps, he put on a camouflage cloak as he decided to hide while searching for the source of the soft sound he had heard back then, if it was one of the inhabitants, he could fight them and if it was something else... He would think of a solution when that would happen. The shrouded man loses sight of the newcomer and decides to drop down onto the path to check around, he looks around carefully trying to find the person he saw before. Waiting carefully until the source of the sound came in his sight, Alex remained silent as he waited. As minutes passed, Alex slowly saw movement from the corners of his eyes. Even though his eyes and ears told a different story, he hoped that the cloaked one was not a hunter. The hunter stops and looks around after following the trail a little, the trail ended and still there was no one to see, nothing to be heard. A sharp clicking sound from a nearby tree, the hunter looked to see a beetle in midair, bit its wings were away, he took a leap to grab at the area to hold the person down if he was successful. So it was a hunter he was facing after all. Pulling out his trident, he kept his voice low in case there where other hunters in the area. "Who might you be, and why are you hunting me?." As he spoke, he concentrated already some magic in the trident in case it turned out this hunter wanted a fight. "Why do you defile these grounds with your presence?" The hunter spoke with a harsh voice filled with anger and caution. "There is nothing for you here, the Face is ours and no one else's" he keeps the newcomer partially restrained on the ground. This face he spoke about, could it be the weapon he heard about in the rumor? Looking better at the hunter in front of him, Alex couldn't help but smile a bit. "How about we release each other first and maybe even talk a bit about why we are here and all?" Alex his voice, while it hadn't lost it low volume, was strangely calm while he spoke. "Or we could fight each other until one of us surrenders, but that would also destroy this forest. So if you are okay with it,i prefer to settle this peacefully." As a way of proving his honesty, Alex even stopped concentrating magic in his trident. "You are weakened" The hunter gets up "You are no longer a threat" Some small insects scurry from Alex's body and across the ground back to the hunter, he then helps Alex up "Speak your business". "I was only a threat if you decided to attack me, nothing else. And as for the business i have with this island, lets keep it at checking out rumors about a magical weapon for now okay?" Looking around casually, he removed his trident for the moment before turning his attention back to the hunter. "Do you have a place where we can have a proper introduction before continuing this talk or do you prefer this place for that?" "This place is fine to talk, Who are you and what have you heard of this weapon you seek?" The hunter stays on guard often checking his surroundings, he makes the fact that he has no weapons on him more obvious in an attempt to convince the newcomer that it is safe. "You could call me a collector i guess, though the rumors where not really clear on what the weapon was. One said it would allow dominion over beasts,one said it was an elemental weapon while there was even one that had something with insects." As he spoke, Alex started leaning casual to the tree behind him, even removing his own cloak. "Mind telling me who you are though? Would be nice to know with who i am talking at the moment after all." "I am known as Akaito Shibirume, there is nothing to do with insects here" Akaito paused for a moment "But maybe something elemental, a long stick that makes light and sound" He looked down thinking hard and after a reasonably long pause he spoke again "I shall assist you in finding it, what are you known as?" A long stick that makes light and sound? While that didn't ring a bell for Alex, it did lower the possible elements for the long stick that Akaito was talking about. "My name is Alex Blackwood by the way. Shall we get going for that stick which makes light and sound? We can continue our conversation as we walk right?" "I guess so" Akaito looked puzzled as he was asked this obvious question "The place is on the opposite side of the island, if we go through the caves we will get there quicker" Akaito started walking towards the caves nearby, he remained suspicious of the newcomer as he mentioned an ability regarding insects, he remained cautious too but continued to lead the way. Unsure what to expect from Akaito, Alex got a small note-book and a pencil out during the walk towards the caves. "What did you mean when you said that the face was yours, and nobody else's?" It could be a relic like the golden masks archeologists sometimes found when excavating ancient city's or graves, which made him curious since the geographical maps didn't show any valuable metals like diamond or gold in the grounds. "The cave is not much further, i hope you are prepared for the challenges that await." Akaito ignored the question and continued to lead Alex to the caverns, after a long pause Akaito said "The face is irrelevant in your search" quietly but loud enough for Alex to hear, he remained skeptical of the newcomer and continued with caution. The two travelers reach the cavern's entrance, nothing could be seen within the complete darkness within. "Proceed with caution Alex, you don't know which of the beasts shall attack in here." Akaito entered the cavern seeming to know the path well despite the darkness that flooded the cavern. Caution he says, while refusing to tell him about that face? Storing the notebook and pencil, he kept his guard up around Akaito as he followed him in the caverns. The moment he set foot in the darkness, Alex blinked a few times to get used to the darkness before choosing to rely more on his ears and touch then on his eyes while trying to follow Akaito in that pitch black darkness. The cave is quiet and aside from the sounds of scurrying and droplets of water there was nothing to hear, they walked deeper into the cavern for what seemed like an hour, Akaito held out his arm to halt Alex "Wait....There is something ahead" a new sound could be heard, something was chirping down the cavern "It's a Large Bladewing Beetle, we can avoid it if you like?" Akaito seemed to know how to avoid contact with the potential threat further down the cave. Feeling Akaito's arm, he briefly shot a glance to his tour guide before trying to locate the source of the sound too. Bladewing beetles where never larger then his own hand from what he had seen and read about them, so he didn't see any reason to avoid them. "No need to avoid it right? Bugs are hardly the threat for us, and i am curious to see how the ones on this island look" "If that is what you think, let us continue" Akaito lead Alex down the tunnel and stopped just before reaching the sound "It's just around this corner, do you require light or assistance?" Akaito held out his hand which seemed to be glowing dimly as to not attract attention. "Light would be nice yes, or else i would not be able to see much of the surrounding, nor would i see much of this beetle." Though, he didn't see why he would need assistance with defeating a simple beetle. A simple knock would probably be already enough to defeat the opponent. "As you wish" Akaito extended his hand past the corner and many fireflies scatter into the next room, lighting up the area "You must be quick, it is dangerous to linger in here." "Yeah, yeah, I'll be quick about squatting this tiny bug down." The moment he walked around the corner, Alex stopped walking and actually walked slowly back to where Akaito stood. "That bug is bigger then i thought..." He certainly didn't expect a blade beetle to be that big, the damned insect was four to five times the size of himself if it was not more then that. Requipping his trident, Alex started to charge the weapon with magical energy as he went to the big bug again. "This might take a bit longer then i thought." Was all that came out of his mouth before charging towards the beetle in front of him. Akaito watched as Alex attempted to attack the beetle, after the first strike the beetle noticed him, it screeched loudly shaking the cavern a little. Akaito just watched in anticipation to analyze Alex's abilities in combat. Covering his ears at the screeching, he waited until the beetle would come at him. Putting ear-plugs in, he held the trident low as he focused some of his magical energy in the entirety of the weapon before he pushed the attacking beetle back with a shock-wave. When it tried another charge with its wings outside this time, Alex started charging the point of his trident while aiming to explode the head of that damned beetle. Akaito ran past after the explosion and grabbed Alex by the arm "Hurry, this way" he said as they ran away from the mildly disoriented beetle. "You did a good job of disorienting that beetle, but it alerted others of our presence, we need to move out" Akaito begins to lead Alex further up the cavern. The beetle only got disoriented with that explosion? Tough beetles on this island than if all the beetles on this island where that tough. When they got out of the cavern, the sunlight nearly blinded him thanks to the rapid change in light. Pulling out his sunglasses to get his sight back, he took a look at the surrounding mountains around him while searching for a way to get down without going back through the cavern. "We must continue through the next mountain to proceed, we may rest here if you wish." Akaito motions towards a small campsite that seems to be for travelers to rest, but is in a bad state as it is never used anymore. "We could also just carry on, there's only two more mountains before the weapon." Akaito looked for an answer on Alex's face. Looking at the campsite, Alex was tempted to proceed through the next mountains and see what that weapon was even though it would probably be smarter to eat something first in case they encountered another one of those beetles. "Lets eat first and then continue after that okay?" "As you wish" Akaito was slightly impressed at Alex's wise choice "What should we have?" Akaito opened his pack and displayed various fruits and meat all kept properly and packed neatly. Looking at what Akaito revealed, he pointed to a few weird looking roots and a piece of meat. "Those will do for now right?" Sitting down in the campsite while keeping an eye on the entrance they went through, he pulled out his notebook again to write a few things down for later. Akaito takes out the food and hands some precooked meat and some roots "They replenish your stamina quickly, eat up" Akaito seems to only eat one root and is full of energy "Take your time" he then waits for Alex. Looking the roots over he got, he stored half of what he got from Akaito away together with his writing materials before eating the roots he still kept with him. "This face you mentioned... Mind telling me about it now?" The way his guide spoke about it during their first meeting, it would seem like an item of great value for the island-inhabitants, but what the value of it would be outside of the island? "It kills people that ask too much about it...that is all there is to say" Akaito kept his serious expression throughout this and was doing something with his hands. "No need to be so mysterious about it, i am no treasure hunter after all. Besides, i only came for that stick that you mentioned." Finishing his meal, he got out a flacon of cool drinking water to relieve his thirst before asking his guide if he wanted to drink something too. If he didn't, he would just store his flacon again. "Lets continue okay?" Akaito nods, getting up and leading the way once more. They enter the next cavern which seems to be just as dark as the first but the size within fluctuating greatly. They eventually reached a large area with an opening to the sky. The area looked like a set of ancient ruins without any specific or known origin, and there was movement all over from the many creatures that had made it their home. "We must tread carefully to get through here, unfortunately the only way is along this path" Akaito pointed at a long weaving path that went deeper into the ruins and then back up on the other side of the cavern to a large staircase leading to an even larger Temple. 'This looks interesting, maybe i should've come here with some archeologists to research those ruins.' Looking careful around, he noticed something about the animals on this island or at least from the animals that he had seen of this island so far. "When some of them attack, would you be so kind as to dispatch them while we follow that path?" "That is unnecessary" Akaito started down the path "As long as we don't attack them, they won't even notice us" Akaito turned to look back and waited for Alex. "M'key, just making sure that is all." If those bugs decided to attack, his trident might not be enough to save him after all. Noticing Akaito waiting for him, Alex followed his guide on the path while looking around the area as he tried to guess how old the ruins where and maybe more importantly which civilization made them back in the past. Akaito led his guest across the large expanse whilst following a few shortcuts to buy some time "We must get through before nightfall, that is when these creatures make room for the dangerous ones" he looked up at the opening to see that the sky was already growing dim. Nodding at the warning of Akaito, he took a quick estimate of the distance before deciding against his plan to fly towards the temple since there would not be enough time to brake if his guess was correct. "Mind telling me something about these ruins then while you guide me to our destination?" "They are over a thousand years old, from when magic was created" Akaito seemed annoyed with the questions but answered this one none the less "This is the city that my people originated from, but when the mountain formed around it, it was abandoned over time as the creatures started moving in" Akaito goes silent for a while. When they reached the stairs, instead of going up like his guide Akaito, Alex stopped walking. "If i offended you or did something else that annoyed you, i would like to know since i did not mean to offend in any way." While his face seemed undisturbed, the voice with which he spoke betrayed that he was not as calm as he tried to show. "You ask too many questions, that is all, you couldn't offend me, I merely despise people who think they can take what they please when they know nothing about it" Akaito continued a little further with or without Alex. "Then maybe you could tell me more about this island, that way i know more about the several things and beings on this island too." Following his guide again, he calmly flexed his hand muscles before starting to speak again. "Who or what were the creatures that started to move in after your people abandoned it for example." "Wildlife found shelter from predators within here, this mountain is like an anthill but hollow" Akaito continued walking along the path "Unfortunately the wildlife that found shelter here were our predators too, causing us to abandon this place, that is the reason our numbers fell drastically" Akaito fell silent, obviously not wanting to talk more about this subject. "That still doesn't answer the question what those predators were Akaito. Were they one of those insects i already saw upon this island, or were they something else than these insects?" Seeing the end of the stairs, Alex wondered how much more farther it would be before they reached their destination. "Different insects, and a lot larger" Akaito also saw the end of the stairs and added something "And that beetle from before was barely an adult" he smiled while facing forwards, away from Alex's vision knowing that he'd be surprised. So that beetle he fought was not even full grown? This trip turned out a lot more interesting than he expected. Walking towards the temple, he couldn't stop a small grin from appearing the moment he saw the statues and images of the temple. They all depicted insects in some way. 'Entering the temple' If he had some expectations on how the temple would look like on the inside, Alex would be sorely disappointed. Besides a few columns which the middle part seemed to be missing from too next to a small opening, there was hardly anything to see in this room. "Is this the great hall or something else Akaito?" "This is the entrance, the next mountain is the temple" Akaito kept his serious expression whilst walking towards the door at the other side of the room "Through that door is the Antechamber to the initial Hall, the stick you seek is at the peak of the temple" He had reached the door now and held it open slightly for Alex. Nodding as his way of acknowledging he heard Akaito, Alex went through the door that his guide held open. "Lets go then shall we? The sooner we are at our destination, the sooner i will leave after all." Akaito leads Alex through the temple's confusing layout finally reaching the third floor after a very roundabout hike through the rubble of the collapsed passages. "We still have a ways to go, please inform me if you wish to rest" Akaito didn't even look back this time as he seemed to be concentrating on the directions within the temple. "I will, you don't have to worry about that." Alex had already giving up trying to make small talk with his guide, and just looked at the carvings on the wall as they walked through the several passages towards a small opening. Hoping that they finally arrived, he saw a small rope-bridge that went towards the second mountain. After walking for what seemed like half a day around the severely damaged temple, they made it to a corridor with many doors leading down its length "If you wish to rest, here is the best place, these are bedrooms that were provided for the residents" Akaito opened the nearest door to reveal a fairly modern room with a large bed, although the room was dirty it was the best they would get on the island. Looking at the room that was supposed to be their resting place if he accepted the offer, he'd rather finish the trip as soon as possible. "I'll pass this time, lets continue the trip to that stick okay?" "As you wish, it is not much further now anyway" Akaito replied "We will be there within the hour" Akaito continued down the hallway and then went through a door that seemed to appear suddenly, through it was a staircase leading down and up, appearing to go on forever. As they went up, Alex pulled out one of the roots he got from Akaito from his storage space to have something to chew on as they went on.